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Lately I have been
asking school leaders, staff members and education aficionados what I consider
to be a universal question now for all high schools: Since any or all high school students could choose to leave
your school tomorrow for on-line or independent study programs, what are you
doing to keep them coming to your school today? High school students
have more choices than ever before and rightly so.They can choose charter programs, independent study, on-line
schools, blended programs and more. So again, with all of these choices, are
our schools thinking how to keep them coming to their schools today? This is a somewhat new
or even foreign idea to many educators.Historically, students, primarily from our neighborhoods or attendance
boundaries, just showed up and made up the enrollment or student body. More
recently, with more choice type situations being created, we might have seen
situations where students are transferring from one school to another. Either w…

I believe in and have
used the Four C’s as foundational
elements for much of my professional work for years. I love that some educators
have added their versions of a fifth or sixth C as well. Whether it’s four,
five or six C’s, they are relevant and important. My intent here with the 8 P’s is not to be cute or coy.Rather, it is to pick up where the Four
C’s leave off and work towards more specificity and application. So, here we go with the 8 P’s of education:Passion If
educational success is going to be based on in-depth thinking, producing
quality work and having an impact on one’s career opportunities, we need to
focus on students’ passions. Passion is somewhat innate, as well as sometimes
hard to identify or apply to all educational environments. But that’s why we
need to make it a focus. If we read about, write about, speak about and
interact with information and experiences related to our passion(s), there is
great likelihood for individual buy-in, ownership and engagement.…